History and Ethics

In previous eras, the personal Highest Ethical Good has corresponded to the Highest Human condition.  For example, Aristotelian personal Highest Virtue corresponds to conduct in the divine realm.  Likewise, Kantian Highest personal Virtue corresponds to conduct in his Kingdom of Ends.  However, as has been previously discussed, the arcs of Human history that have been posited as determining any of the scope of these eras have been shown to be obsolete.  For, according to the best information, the Human species emerges as a descendent of apes, populates the Earth by, first, spreading out to all of its regions, then integrates via rapid telecommunication and transportation, finally departing the Earth via the development of new faculties, e. g. the ability to fly, the ability to breathe in the absence of oxygen.  Furthermore, what could be interpreted as the development of a new species, one that can survive long-term in an extraterrestrial environment, is projected as a nascent but realistic possibility.  So, the Ethical doctrines of the past are as obsolete as the concepts of History from which they emerged.